Cheiloneurus mirabel, Noyes, 2023

Noyes, John Stuart, 2023, ENCYRTIDAE OF COSTA RICA (HYMENOPTERA: CHALCIDOIDEA), 4 Subfamily Encyrtinae: tribes Arrhenophagini, Habrolepidini, Cerapterocerini, Cheiloneurini, Trechnitini, Cercobelini, Polaszekiini, Protyndarichoidini, Gahaniellini and Syrphophagini (part), mainly primary parasitoids and hyperparasitoids of Coccoidea and Psylloidea (Hemiptera), Taxonomic Monographs on Neotropical Hymenoptera (Oxford, England) 2 (11), pp. 1-921 : 262-263

Cheiloneurus mirabel sp.nov.

( Figs 650-655)

DIAGNOSIS. Female (length about 2.0mm): body generally dark brown to black with a weak to moderate metallic sheen; antenna ( Fig. 650) with scape very pale orange; pedicel mostly yellow, proximally dark brown dorsally; funicle yellow; clava dark brown; mesoscutum with uniform, silvery setae; coxae white; hind tibia mostly pale orange, legs otherwise white to pale orange with a few brown areas; fore wing ( Fig. 655) almost completely hyaline but weakly infuscate immediately below marginal and stigmal veins; head ( Fig. 654) about 4.5X as wide as frontovertex, in facial view about 1.1X as broad as long, subcircular, genae converging, moderately and evenly curved; frontovertex naked medially below anterior ocellus; area between eye and scrobe hardly wider than diameter of anterior ocellus, with distinct sculpture, scrobal margin rounded; interantennal prominence dorsally rounded with only a few long setae; mandible with two long, sharp lower teeth and a very short, sharp, upper tooth; antenna ( Fig. 650) with scape about 3.9X as long as broad; funicle with F1 subquadrate, other segments strongly transverse, becoming larger distad; head about 1.1X as wide as length of flagellum; linear sensilla on F4-F6; clava 3-segmented, slightly longer than funicle, sensory area large and forming an oblique truncation, extending about 0.5X along ventral margin; mesoscutum ( Fig. 653) with polygonally reticulate sculpture; scutellum with a distinct, but very short apical tuft of setae; wings fully developed; fore wing ( Fig. 655) about 2.7X as long as broad; parastigma not curved downwards; costal cell dorsally with 4 or 5 setae at apex and a single, complete line of setae ventrally; area below proximal part of parastigma with a group of about 20 setae; apices of postmarginal and stigmal veins ( Fig. 651) not connected by a naked hyaline area; apical bristle of postmarginal vein about 0.4X as long as marginal vein; mid tibial spur about as long as basitarsus; propodeum ( Fig. 653) with about 15 setae around each spiracle, these not extending down side; syntergum very slightly longer than mid tibia; ovipositor ( Fig. 652) about 2.7X gonostylus or 2.2X mid tibia; gonostylus about 2.3X as long as mid tibial spur; exserted part of ovipositor about 0.7X as long as mid tibial spur. Male: unknown.

Female (holotype): length, including ovipositor, 1.97mm; excluding ovipositor, 1.84mm ( CPD) .

Head black with weak dark blue and purple reflections on frontovertex; scrobal area mostly with a stronger blue-green sheen, mixed with purple, especially on interantennal prominence between toruli; mouth margin narrowly purplish; gena and temple with a brighter, slightly brassy metallic blue and green sheen, strongest immediately below eye, coppery posteriorly; frontovertex with inconspicuous dark brown setae; antenna ( Fig. 650) with radicle pale orange, apex with a dark brown ring; scape very pale orange, proximally with a narrow, dark brown ring; pedicel largely yellow, proximally dark brown dorsally; funicle yellow; clava dark brown; thorax mostly dark brown to black; pronotum coppery with green and brassy reflections; mesoscutum clothed with uniform, translucent silvery setae and with a metallic blue-green sheen with weak purple reflections, posterior margin coppery purple; tegula dark brown; axilla dull, dark purple-brown with coppery reflections; scutellum clothed with dark brown setae, hardly less shiny than mesoscutum, anterior one third with a dark blue sheen, middle one-third blue-green, apical one-third coppery, extreme sides and apex coppery mixed shining blue-green; metanotum with a slight purple sheen; mesopleuron in posterior half with a coppery-purple and brassy sheen, anterior half mixed blue and brassy, these narrowly separated by a coppery, dark blue and violet sheen; fore coxa white; fore femur white to pale yellow, with a subapical, brown spot externally; fore tibia pale orange with a very small, subbasal, brown spot externally; mid coxa white; mid femur white to pale yellow with a subapical brown spot externally, tibia pale orange with a subbasal brown spot externally; hind coxa white; hind femur white in proximal half or so, otherwise pale orange, brown at extreme apex, tibia mostly pale orange with an incomplete, narrow, subbasal brown ring; tarsi pale orange, pretarsi slightly dusky; fore wing ( Fig. 655) almost completely hyaline but weakly infuscate immediately below marginal and stigmal veins; propodeum dark purple-brown; sides metallic green with a few conspicuous silvery setae in spiracular area; gaster dark purple-brown, Gt1 metallic blue-green anteriorly; remainder of dorsum of gaster slightly coppery, mixed purple and brassy, sides of gaster towards apex and outer plates of ovipositor mixed metallic green, coppery and brassy; gonostylus dark brown, extreme apex orange.

Head ( Fig. 654) about 4.5X as wide as frontovertex, in profile about 1.6X as high as deep, not subtriangular in profile, occipital margin carinate, occiput without a conspicuous, median groove above foramen; a very narrow, elongate groove adjacent to eye margin between posterior ocellus and occipital margin; ocelli forming an angle of about 55°; frontovertex slightly shiny, with conspicuous reticulate sculpture of mesh size generally very slightly smaller than diameter of eye facet; scrobal area and mouth margin with shallower sculpture; gena and temple with more elongate sculpture of larger mesh; scrobes shallow, meeting dorsally, dorsal and lateral margins weakly rounded; antenna as in Fig. 650; scape hardly broadened and flattened, about 3.9X as long as broad; F1 subquadrate, remaining segments strongly transverse and broadest distad, linear sensilla present only on F4-F6; clava moderately broad, slightly longer than funicle, sutures oblique, sensory area enlarged, about 1.5X as long as ventral surface and extending about half-way along clava giving it a strong, obliquely truncate appearance; eye reaching occipital margin, clothed with inconspicuous setae, each a little shorter than diameter of facet; inner eye margins not converging anteriorly; malar sulcus absent; mandible with two long, acute, lower teeth and a short, acute, upper tooth. Relative measurements: HW 75, HH 69, FV 16.5, OD 6, POL 7.5, OOL 1, OCL 6, AOL 9, EL 48, EW 40, MS 27, SL 35, SW 9.

Thorax ( Fig. 653) with shallow, irregular, polygonally reticulate sculpture on pronotum, generally of mesh size subequal to diameter of facet; sculpture on mesoscutum generally of similar depth to that on pronotum, but more regular and of smaller mesh; sculpture on axilla similar to that on mesoscutum, but slightly deeper and a little transverse; scutellum with conspicuously deeper, polygonally reticulate sculpture; apex and sides narrowly completely smooth; visible part of mesoscutum about 1.9X as broad as long; scutellum hardly broader than long, with a very short subapical tuft, setae about one-quarter as long as scutellum; hind femur about 3.8X as long as broad; fore wing with venation and setation as in Figs 651, 655; costal cell with 3 or 4 setae dorsally at apex; no naked streak present between apices of postmarginal and stigmal veins ( Fig. 651); propodeum ( Fig. 653) with moderately dense setae in spiracular area, side naked, medially much less than 0.1X as long as scutellum and with some shallow polygonally reticulate sculpture. Relative measurements: FWL 75, FWW 28; HWL 59, HWW 15.

Gaster without “gland-like” structures on Gt1 or Gt5; hypopygium reaching about half-way to apex; syntergum about 1.15X as long as mid tibia and with apex acute; ovipositor ( Fig. 652) clearly exserted, the exserted part about 0.7X as long as mid tibial spur or about 0.2X as long as mid tibia. Relative measurements: OL 84, GL 31 [MT 38.5].

Variation. Only holotype examined.

Male. Unknown.

DISTRIBUTION. Costa Rica.

HOSTS. Unknown.

MATERIAL EXAMINED.

Type material. Holotype E: COSTA RICA, Heredia, La Selva BS, 10°26’N 84°01’W, FVK 34, 10.xi.1994 . Holotype in NHMUK .

COMMENTS. Cheiloneurus mirabel is most similar to mantua and mardor and, apart from the characters given in the key, it can be separated from both these species by having the ovipositor less than half as long as the mid tibia or less than 3X as long as the gonostylus whereas in both mantua and mardor the ovipositor is at least 0.6X as long as the mid tibia and more than 3X as long as the gonostylus. It can also be separated from mardor by having the subapical tuft on the scutellum about one-quarter as long as the scutellum and not more than about 20 setae on side of the propodeum near the spiracle whereas in mardor the subapical tuft of setae is about one-third as long as the scutellum and there are at least about 40 setae near the spiracle.